Sublime

August 25, 2014
Lucy can’t sleep, eat, or leave the grounds of Saint Osanna’s, a prep school set alongside a haunted lake and forest. She’s a Walker—the local term for ghosts—who has appeared on the school’s grounds 10 years after her murder. Lucy doesn’t know why she has reappeared, but she quickly senses that it has to do with Colin, a daredevil student who lost both parents when his mother drove the family off a bridge. Lucy and Colin have a special connection, and as they fall for each other, he learns that if he brings himself to the edge of death, they can be together for real. Lauren (a pseudonym for Christina Hobbes and Lauren Billings, coauthors of the Wild Seasons series for adults) tell Colin and Lucy’s story through their alternating points of view, but while glimpses into Lucy’s murder give the narrative a spark early on, there is little in the way of mystery, with only the romantic thread (and its inherent danger) pulling readers forward. Ages 14–up. Agent: Holly Root, Waxman Leavell Literary Agency.

September 15, 2014
An orphaned adrenaline junkie falls for a dead girl, and the doomed, love-struck couple learns they can only truly "be together" (cough) in the realm between the living and the dead. Ghosts-known as Walkers-at St. Osanna's boarding school have been said to traverse the grounds. Colin, a handsome, popular student famous for daredevil stunts on his bike, has heard these musings, though he thinks them fiction-until he meets Lucy. From the moment that Lucy and Colin meet, their love is cemented, hard and fast. Although one is very much alive with a corporeal body and one isn't, teenage hormones still palpably buzz, and an almost tragic accident on a frozen lake becomes an opportunity for the pair to physically unite. After, Colin decides to willingly engage in near-death experiences to be with Lucy, but how far will he go to be with the girl-er, spirit?-that he loves? While Colin is handsome and Lucy may have been smart prior to her unfortunate demise, the two of them are completely one-dimensional in their love for each other; it's the only driving force for them. Readers have to be more than willing to suspend their disbelief and let themselves be pulled along by the unrelenting tide of swooning infatuation. However, the cringe-worthy ending will leave even the most uncompromising romantic grumbling. For die-hard fans of Bella and Edward only-pun very much intended. (Paranormal romance. 13 & up)

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October 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-When she wakes up, covered with dust and no memory of her name, her past, or how she came to be on the cold grounds of an isolated boarding school, a ghostly girl knows that something is odd about her. After wandering into the school's dining hall, she locks eyes with the lanky and handsome Colin, and she knows that she came for him. Colin, too, is drawn to the mysterious girl and notices that other classmates do not seem to see her, not to mention her oddly pale skin and gray eyes. Ghostly girl, whose name we learn is Lucy, and Colin become entwined in the mystery of Lucy's tragic past and her oddly ethereal present. Once Colin discovers that only during near-death experiences can he really touch Lucy, he begins a dangerous round of nearly suicidal stunts that allow the two of them to really feel each other's skin. Authors Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings (writing under a combined pseudonym) pull readers forward as they try to solve the mystery of Lucy's current and past existence. Excellent descriptions of the lonely Idaho boarding school, a lake in the wilderness, and intoxicating idylls on obsession carry teens through most of the narrative. However, the conclusion feels hastily contrived and ill-defined, which will leave readers more dissatisfied than sated.-Denise Schmidt, San Francisco Public Library

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2014
Grades 10-1 Waiflike ghost Lucy, the victim of a murder at the lake near Saint Osanna's boarding school, wakes in the woods and wanders toward the campus, where she's immediately drawn to popular daredevil Colin. I think I'm here for you, she says upon meeting him for the first time. As she lives a blurry sort of half-life as a nearly human ghost, captivating Colin finds himself inexplicably pulled to her as well. While Lucy tries to recall her life before waking up at Saint Osanna, Colin discovers that he can feel physically closer to her with every death-defying stunt he performs. Is he willing to sacrifice his safety just to be with her? Alternating chapters from each of their perspectives, Lauren imbues each character with a distinct lyrical qualityLucy's chapters are surreal and dreamlike, while Colin's point of view is harder and sharper. The poetic writing and shared viewpoints of these two damaged souls seamlessly flow together in this spooky, sexy romance, dripping with heady sweetness.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)